Minions Paradise Announced, Coming this Summer

With a new movie in their future and a wildly successful mobile game in their past, you probably won’t be shocked to learn that a new Minions mobile experience has just been announced by Illumination Entertainment. What might surprise you though, is that its not just a movie tie-in. And it’s not from the makers of Minion Rush, either.

EA Mobile will be putting their own twist on the Despicable Me franchise this summer with Minions Paradise, a game about building a perfect tropical vacation for the Minions after their plans for a real one get shipwrecked.

The few released images so far have us thinking that this will be a whimsical spin on city-building. Whimsy and city-building are a combination that EA Mobile knows all too well — just ask fans who are still tickled pink by The Simpsons: Tapped Out.

And like The Simpsons: Tapped Out, EA has made a very smart decision to appeal to the fans: involve the franchise creators in the development process. According to today’s press release, Illumination Entertainment has “writers, directors, artists, and animators” working alongside EA to make sure Minion Paradise is everything fans would hope for.

They’ve even created a new Minion for the game that’s never been seen before, Phil.

“Get ready to water ski behind alligators, fish for electric eels and toss mangos from floating balloons as you’re immersed in the ultimate Minion utopia,” writes EA Mobile Executive VP Frank Gibeau in a blog post earlier today. “We’re building a huge game with tons to do, so you can have endless fun with your own Minions!”

This won’t be the end of the mischief that EA and Illumination Entertainment plan to get up to. Minions Paradise is only the first game in a multi-title deal. Assuming things go well, I wouldn’t be surprised if another game is announced by the time Minions is heading for a home video release.

Get ready to build your own tropical hangout in the coming months. Minions Paradise will be available on iOS and Android this summer.